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Graduate Program

The Department of Sociology at The Ohio State University is a strong, nationally-ranked graduate program with a productive faculty and a strong record of placement of PhD students. Areas of particular strength within the department include Stratification, Community and Urban Studies, Criminology, Education, Family, Work and Organizations, Political Sociology, Social Movements, and Population and Health.

In the most recent U.S. News and World Reports rankings, our Sociology doctoral program ranked 17th in the nation and in the top 10% of all programs in terms of faculty research productivity as measured by peer-reviewed articles, scholarly books and grants. As a relatively large department of over 30 faculty members who have achieved national and international recognition for their scholarship, our department covers virtually all domains of the discipline as well as diverse methodological approaches.

The department is home to more than 60 graduate students, who come from across the nation and the world to become next generation of scholars and educators in the field. OSU PhDs begin their careers in research universities (University of Texas, Penn State University, Emory University, UC-Irvine, University of New Mexico, North Carolina State University, Brigham Young University, Georgia State University, University of Oregon), smaller teaching-oriented and liberal arts colleges (St. Norbert College, Washington College, William Patterson University) and applied research settings (U.S. Census Bureau, National Center for Disease Control, The State of Ohio).

Our faculty/student ratio of 2:1 enables us to continue a long tradition of research collaboration between faculty and students. Students and faculty collaborate on research presented at regional, national and international conferences and published in the top sociology and specialty journals. Additionally, we are proud of the fact that many students coauthor research together, as this attests to the rich intellectual and collaborative culture of our department and the research talents of our graduate students. Beyond research, most sociologists in academic environments are also dedicated teachers. Our teacher training program involves coursework and apprenticeships as teaching assistants to faculty members; then advanced graduate students gain valuable experience by teaching their own courses as independent instructors. In recent years several of our graduate students have won the prestigious Graduate Associate Teaching Award (GATA), Ohio State’s highest recognition for excellence in teaching provided by GTAs.

We invite you to become part of our vibrant community! Whatever your research interests or methodological orientation, we believe you will find the OSU Department of Sociology an invigorating and collegial place to call your intellectual home as you pursue your PhD. The Ohio State University is one of the world’s best comprehensive, public research universities. When you earn a graduate degree from Ohio State, you can be assured that your degree will be recognized nationally and internationally. Please see the box on the right for more information about the department and instructions on how to apply.